I just purchased a 17-3. It had the original box, all paperwork, and two 50 round blue boxes of S&W ammo. The pistol is in super shape, and I can't wait to shoot it. The gun has a target hammer and a target trigger.

Now, on to the questions. What would the DOB be with a serial number of BK726**? The gun has smooth S&W grips on it. Is it possible that these grips were original to this gun? If they are not original, which grips would be? The front sight appears to have a brass escutcheon pin or similar item on the side of the sight that you would see when shooting the gun. Would this be a factory part of the sight?

Thanks for the help

A 17-3 would run from 1967 to 1977.

Your serial # should be a K prefix with the rest numerals .....the B you have listed puzzles me. Check the serial number closer.

Smooth targets were available at that time. The end flap would show your target hammer TH and Target trigger TT and target stocks would be TS. Post a shot of the end flap if you could.

FN in MT

My mistake. The serial number is 8K726**. In the stock section on the box, it simply has an "S". Nothing checked on the TH or TT, unless it has faded.

If I am reading the book right it's 1975. Maybe
someone could confirm this. Don

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"Don't worry be happy"

I have 8K514XX, and it was made in 1975. It is an unbelieveably accurate gun! It also has the nicest trigger of any S&W I've owned, and that has been quite a few. You will have to keep it clean to function well though. As soon as the chambers get a little dirty, they make seating fresh rounds hard to do. They are match chambers and cut to minimum specs.

Enjoy it!

Here's mine wearing diamond magnas. I also have two sets of diamond targets for it.

Congratulations on the great purchase.

I love this series of revolvers and I have a K22 with 6 inch barrel made in 1952 and a Model 17-4 with 8 3/8 barrel.

Model 17-4

I have been eyeing a 17-3 in a local gunstore. It is probably 95 percent and they are asking $550.00 for it and appear to be firm on the price. That seems to be a tad high to me. Do you mind if I ask what you paid? Thanks

I paid more than that for mine. It was $650 with the original box, all paperwork, and two 50 round boxes of S&W blue .22 ammo. I am not sure what the deal was with the S&W ammo, but I thought it was pretty neat. It did not have a cleaning kit. If I had bought mine at a dealer, there would have been 8% tax added to the price. I am pretty sure that's not a great price, but I haven't seen one in much better shape than the one I bought. I probably have a warped sense of purchasing things. I will pay more than I should for something that I really want. Ten years from now, I probably will not remember what I paid for it anyway. I have also mulled a gun purchase over, looked at it five different days during lunch, and on the day I finally decide to let go of the money, somebody just bought it thirty minutes ago. Something funny happened at lunch today. I was killing time in a local gun shop looking at S&W 4506. I knew I wasn't going to buy it, but I was playing around with it and looking it over pretty good. I noticed two guys standing really close to me. One of them started getting really fidgety. The longer I looked at the 4506, the more fidgeting he did. Finally, when I handed the gun back to the salesman, this guy about ripped the salesman's arm and said "I'll take it". While I was looking at it, I bet he was thinking "I knew I should have bought it yesterday!!!".

You should have bought the 4506! They are great guns. I've owned two, and the one I have now is my daily CCW gun. It is extremely accurate as well, and totally reliable. It will feed anything I stick in it without a hitch.

The price on the 4506 was $389.00. I don't think they would have budged on the price and with tax it would have been around $425. It was really clean. There wasn't a mark on it. I probably would have bought it if I didn't already have a 645 and a 745. For some reason, I like the square trigger guard of the 4506 no dash, the 645, and the 745. Some folks aren't as fond of that look as I am.

One other question for you, where would I find a set of diamond magna grips like the ones pictured on your model 17? Are they really hard to come by? Any advice on finding a set of grips for the model 17 would be appreciated. The smooth target grips that are on the model 17 I just bought are really nice, but I like the looks of the diamond magnas better.

The one I am considering does not have a box or the paper work and that can add a lot to the price plus you got two boxes of S&W .22 ammo so your probably did alright.

I purchased a 17-3 with most of the finish gone for $200 a couple months ago.

For what I wanted the gun for, it's perfect!!!!!

You did fine and congrats on a FINE revolver! Mines (17-3) a tack driver extrodinaire. Paid 450.00 for it a few years back, no box or papers ANIB. It's getting alot of range time thanks to the ammo lock-up.

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V/R
Roger / SG

You can't go wrong with a 17 in good mechanical condition. After hemming and hawing and missing out on deals on a 24-3 and a very nice cased Nickel 57 within 2 days of each other a few months ago I spotted a 17-3 in the bottom of the dealer's case. It is the gun I should have bought 30 years ago and at $350 OTD it came home with me.

+1 on the tight chambers and cleaning, but there is a payoff in accuracy.

Keep watching the classifieds here on the forum. There were a few S&WCA members selling them at the show here in MI yesterday. They generally run around $100 for really good ones. I got lucky on those in the picture. I got them really cheap at a local gunshop, and they are as good as I've seen them. If you are seriously interested, PM me, and I'll try to hook you up with a guy I met and talked to for quite a while at the show, who had a nice pair.

You could look for a set of K frame Square Butt Magnas with diamond on Ebay. They will be somewhat pricy but not nearly as bad as the same in N frame grips. They are usually up there regularly.

Finally got to take the gun out and shoot it today. Really a joy to shoot. It was everything I had hoped it would be. I let my 8, 9, and 11 year old boys shoot it as well. They are already trying to decide who will get the gun left to them (hopefully not for another 40 or 50 years). My 9 year old is really a good shot. It doesn't take a lot to make me look like a novice, but he enjoyed out-shooting dad. We shot at my parents house. It really doesn't get much better than spending the afternoon with my mom, my dad, and my wife and our sons. I think I am creating a new generation of Smith nuts. They already love going to pawn/gun shops with me just to goof off. About once a month, I will take one of them for one-on-one father/son time. On one trip with my middle son, I bought a NIB 745 to replace one that I regretfully sold about ten years ago. On another trip with my youngest son, I bought a blued model 19-3. I hope they remember someday spending time with me and purchasing a particular gun. One day, I will leave that particular gun to them that was bought on a one-on-one trip with them. Outside of three snubnose Smith .38s, I own a 14-3, 17-3, 19-3, and a 686-3. Seems like I luck up on guns that are -3s. I wish I could find a LNIB 27-3 on a trip with my oldest son. That would complete the trifecta. I appreciate all the great info that can be found on this site.

What a great story! That is the kind of thing that really adds interest to a gun IMO. Belated Happy Father's Day from one Dad to another!